My Crystal Ball Glows Again
My Crystal Ball Glows Again
Date: Thursday, September 28, 2006 4:15 PM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1564 -- 09/28/2006 >>>>>
The Washington Post just did another one of their H-1B advocacy articles
again. Most of it is standard fare about companies who are begging Congress
for more H-1Bs and green cards.
There is one section that's easy to miss, but it's by far the most
important:
With Congress due to recess tomorrow, advocates of the
programs have given up on winning immediate change. Now
they're hoping members of Congress will focus on the
issue in the lame-duck session late this year.
Rumors are starting to circulate that Congress will make their move on some
type of immigration bill during the lame duck session after the election. I
included a FAIR alert after the WP article.
The FAIR alert concerns the Senate Comprehensive Immigration Bill (S. 2611)
but FAIR didn't mention the Skil Bill, which not only is included in S2611
-- it's in standalone bills in the House and Senate: (H.R. 5744 and S.
2691). I'm not sure what to make of FAIR's apparent indifference towards
the Skil bill - perhaps they are so focused on amnesty they don't
understand how this unlimited employment visa bill is being sneaked in the
back door.
As I was writing this newsletter my crystal ball, which has been dormant
since last year, started to glow with a faint phosphorescent green color. A
pleasant image of a little church house grabbed my attention, but it
quickly coalesced into something ugly, and evil - the Capitol Building in
Washington DC.
***** MY CRYSTAL BALL *****
____
.-" +' "-.
/.'.'A_'*`.\
|:.*'/\-\. ':|
|:.'.||"|.'*:|
\:~^~^~^~^:/
/`-....-'\
jgs / \
`-.,____,.-'
I peered into the crystal ball to see what's brewing in Washington DC.
Images were coming to me from sometime after November 13th. I see a smoked
filled room of Congressmen and lobbyists in a "lame duck" session.
Negotiations are going on to hammer out an omnibus spending bill. They are
under tremendous pressure to increase the federal budget ceiling so that
the Chinese can finance our debt by buying T-bills.
Of course budgets are not the only thing that is put in spending bills, as
we found out in 2004 when the H-1B increase was slipped into the omnibus
spending bill. Something else was going on so I peered further into the
glowing glass ball.
I see a late session of Congressmen on Friday night. Microsoft
representatives are among the crowd of lobbyists that are wandering around
the Capitol Hill offices.
All of the sudden the crystal ball goes further into the future by perhaps
a week. I can read a press release announcing that the Skil Bill has been
amended to the Omnibus Spending Bill of 2005.
The next thing I see is a government bureaucrat rubber stamping stacks of
visas piled in boxes. Then an automated machine takes over to speed things
up.
At this point the Crystal Ball goes dark, and after a delay, it shows
thousands of computer programmers, engineers, and scientists lining up at
federal soup kitchens. Riots are breaking out in cities with heavy
concentrations of high-tech industries such as San Francisco, Boston, and
Dallas.
Meanwhile another plane-load of Indian IIT graduates arrives at the
airport. They are quietly bussed to American sweatshops to begin their 75
hour work week.
American computer programmers all joined the Programmer's Guild, and then
refused to train their Indian replacements. Chaos breaks out when computer
systems go down all across the United States. The Indian computer gurus
can't figure out how to get the computers back, and when they try to reboot
they get the blue screen of death -- this happens even on Linux systems!
Managers beg the programmers to come back but they refuse to report back to
work until every single H-1B is shipped back home.
The locks on Hoover dam wouldn't open when the networked computer system
refused to respond to commands. As the water behind the dam rose to
dangerous levels the City of Los Angeles and Las Vegas ordered full
evacuations. Nobody received the orders to evacuate because all the cell
phone systems crashed.
Then, all the sudden, the image in the glass ball started to fade.
A smoky haze filled the ball which looked like hell-fire and brimstone. I
heard an echoing laugh that sounded like Bill Gates fading into the
distance -- and then the crystal ball become just a clear piece of glass.
That maniacal laugh got me to thinking. Did the crystal ball do the Bill
Gates thing because he is the one that lobbied for "Bill's Skil Bill", or
was there something more sinister going on?
If you take all the letters in Bill Gates III and then convert it in ASCII
code (American standard code for information interchange) and then ADD up
all the numbers...you will get 666, which is the number of the beast!!!
B = 66
I = 73
L = 76
L = 76
G = 71
A = 65
T = 84
E = 69
S = 83
I = 1
I = 1
I = 1
666
Coincidence you say? Well how about this?
MS-DOS 6.21 ** 77+83+45+68+79+83+32+54+46+50+49 = 666
WINDOWS 95 ** 87+73+78+68+79+87+83+57+53+1= 666
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/27/AR2006092701996.html
Visas for Skilled Workers Still Frozen
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 28, 2006; A12
For technology companies and research institutions that have spent recent
autumns lobbying for permission to hire more foreign workers, this was
supposed to be the year that ended the annual rite of desperation.
A bill that passed the Senate this spring would have doubled the number of
visas issued every year for highly skilled professionals, such as
scientists and engineers. And it would have helped clear a backlog of
applications for permanent residency from such workers.
But the attempt by Congress to rewrite the nation's immigration laws has
bogged down in controversy over border security and illegal immigration.
That means changes in the skilled-worker programs, while less
controversial, are also in limbo.
With Congress due to recess tomorrow, advocates of the programs have given
up on winning immediate change. Now they're hoping members of Congress will
focus on the issue in the lame-duck session late this year.
"It is incredibly difficult to pass major legislative reforms in any areas,
and they tried to bite off a lot," said Jenifer Verdery, a policy director
for Intel Corp., which has lobbied for more skilled foreign workers. "We've
made a strong case, and we're hoping to take that to the finish line . . .
if there is any policymaking left to do after the election."
For years, many of the country's largest technology companies and most
prestigious research laboratories have said they are unable to find enough
U.S.-born scientists and similar workers to fill their openings. They have
depended on the H-1B visa to bring overseas talent into the United States.
The companies also sponsor such skilled workers for green cards, which
allow them to live and work here permanently.
But only 65,000 H-1B visas are issued each year, and demand has been so
high recently that all of them are taken instantaneously -- mostly with
tech workers from India and China. People from those countries also face
among the longest waits for green cards.
The Senate plan would have nearly doubled the H-1B quota to 115,000 a year,
and it would have helped clear a backlog of green-card applications.
The technology industry mounted a huge push on the issue this year.
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates met with members of Congress. A group
of computer programmers hired a lobbying firm. An industry coalition handed
out fake green cards imprinted with their demands.
A few professional associations and anti-immigrant groups oppose expanding
the skilled-worker programs, contending that they can depress wages, but
the programs have historically drawn support from both political parties.
At Microsoft, H-1B and green card reform has emerged as the "top
legislative priority right now," said Jack Krumholtz, the company's
managing director for federal government affairs. "We are really at a
crisis in terms of the industry's ability to hire the best and the
brightest and retain them."
A company spokeswoman estimated that about 7 percent of Microsoft's hires
over the past five years had H-1B visas. Of the company's H-1B employees,
20 percent a year obtain green cards. The company said the low number stems
from delays in processing green cards. An estimated 500,000 green-card
applications are pending nationwide.
The employees describe agonizing, life-altering waits. In some cases,
marriages, home purchases and retirement investments are put off. Graduates
of master's and doctorate programs describe stringing together fellowships
and one-year appointments to stay in this country. A spokesman for the
National Institutes of Health said those on temporary work visas have
trouble qualifying for federal research grants.
Immigrant scientists call the policies crippling and said they had expected
relief from a provision in the Senate bill that would have allowed
favorable treatment for graduates in the sciences, technology, engineering,
and mathematics.
"In the midst of this whole debate, very little is said about legal
immigration. And even within legal immigration, little about PhDs and
scientists," said Jai Pathak, a research scientist who lives in Washington.
"There are a lot of very fine scientists the government would like to keep,
but their citizenship status impedes it."
Pathak cited the Hungarian roots of Intel Corp. co-founder Andrew S. Grove,
whose work helped create the modern computer industry that employs millions
of Americans.
"What would have happened if the United States had decided to close the
doors on him?" Pathak said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Date: Friday, September 15, 2006 1:20 PM
Lame Duck Season Opens Soon:
House Plans "Border Security Now" Agenda for September and a "Very
Probable" Guest Worker Amnesty after Elections
The weather is getting cooler in D.C. and that means Congress is beginning
to pull the wool over the American public's eyes. On Thursday, September
14, 2006, House Leadership gathered for a press conference announcing their
"Border Security Now" agenda for September. The Secure Fence Act 2006
passed the same day as item number one on that agenda. House Republicans
learned from their hearings over the summer that the American public is
overwhelmingly in favor of border security and ending illegal immigration.
House Leadership believes that picking up border security will pay off in
the November elections and keep Republicans in the majority. They are
moving forward with many initiatives to secure the border. FAIR applauds
the House for starting out and completing the first mile in a 26 mile race.
HOWEVER, danger is just under the surface. FAIR has learned from highly
credible Hill sources that these border security efforts are helping the
House grease the skids for a "very probable" guest worker amnesty program
for the lame duck session beginning November 13. Members of Congress are
planning on moving a guest worker bill in a time where they will be the
furthest from the next election -- right after this coming election. Acting
in a lame duck session allows members to get the best of both worlds. To
appease the public and get reelected, they will pass border security. To
appease big business, they will pass a guest worker program after the
elections. When will enforcement of our immigration laws come into play?
Nobody knows.
FAIR wants to get the American public aware of this political shell game --
a little enforcement in return for a massive guest worker amnesty. We will
support the House's efforts for the "Border Security Now" agenda, but we
must also expose efforts to cater to big business interests -- interests
that are diametrically opposed to what the American people really want.
The "Border Security Now" agenda, to be addressed again next week on the
House Floor, includes the following items:
More Border Fencing and Improved Surveillance Technology
Secure Fence Act: (House Passed 9/14/06)
Funding for Secure Border Initiative
Homeland Security Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2007: Provides $3.98
billion for the Secure Border Initiative, the president's plan to gain
operational control of our borders over the next 5 years. Provides $161
million for border security technology, including aerial surveillance and
unmanned aerial vehicles.
Funding for More Border Patrol Agents
Homeland Security Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2007: Provides $2.33
billion in funding for the United States Border Patrol, including funds for
1,200 new border patrol agents, to support a workforce of 13,580 agents.
Also provides $2.65 billion for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE),
including funding for an additional 1,212 ICE agents and officers, for a
total of 11,500.
"Catch & Return," not "Catch & Release"
Fairness in Immigration Litigation Act: Ends outdated injunctions that
prevent the effective enforcement of immigration laws and has led to "catch
and release" policies. Gangs, such as MS-13, have exploited these
loopholes, and many criminal aliens have been released onto our streets.
Detention and Deportation of Alien Gang Members
Alien Gang Removal Act: Prohibits alien gang members from entering the U.S.
and allows for detention and deportation of alien gang members already
within the country.
Expedited Removal of Alien Criminals
Criminal Alien Removal Act: Allows for expedited removal of alien criminals
who are not permanent residents. Currently, these aliens are placed in
lengthy removal proceedings despite the fact that they are ineligible for
relief.
Increase in Prosecution of Alien Smugglers
Alien Smuggler Prosecution Act: Authorizes an increase in the number of
federal prosecutors for alien smuggling cases and encourages the attorney
general to establish uniform guidelines for prosecution of smuggling
offenses.
Criminalization of Construction and Financing of Border Tunnels
Border Tunnel Prevention Act: Creates criminal penalties of up to 20 years'
imprisonment for knowingly constructing or financing the construction of
unauthorized tunnels at the border to stop the possible smuggling of
aliens, contraband, drugs, weapons, or terrorists.
Detention of Dangerous Aliens Unable to be Deported
Dangerous Alien Detention Act: Allows for the continued detention of
dangerous aliens under orders of removal for more than six months if they
cannot be removed within the six month timeframe. Currently the Department
of Homeland Security has no choice but to release many criminal aliens back
into our country when they cannot be removed in six months.
Reaffirm Authority of State and Local law Enforcement to Enforce
Immigration Laws
State and Local Law Enforcement Cooperation in the Enforcement of
Immigration Law Act: Reaffirms the authority of state and local law
enforcement to voluntarily investigate, identify, detain, and transfer to
federal custody aliens in the United States in order to assist in the
enforcement of immigration laws.
You've spent the last year standing up to and speaking out against a guest
worker amnesty that would give away millions of U.S. jobs. The last few
weeks of the lame duck session (beginning Nov. 13) are the most opportune
time for the White House and special interests to get done what you've so
far kept from happening.
The end of the 109th Congress is just around the corner. Don't let them
pass a massive guest worker amnesty under your watch! Stay tuned to FAIR
for more information as events unfold.
Newsletter Homepage:
http://www.JobDestruction.com/shameh1b/JobDestructionNews.htm
Support this Newsletter and www.JobDestruction.com by donating:
www.zazona.com/Donations.htm
To Be removed from this mailing list, reply to this
email with UNSUbSCRIBE in the subject window
Back to archives